Into the Night
"Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Col d'Eze is 2kms away from our home in Nice's Old Port. Did we tell you that already? To say we are familiar with its slopes, its curves and the views from the Grande Corniche would be an understatement. We never get bored of riding King Kelly's Climb, but it can get a tad repetitive during those stolen lunch rides.
Step up the darkness. Not many working souls are afforded the professional riders' ability to sleep until their body is ready to rise and shine and then ride on their own agenda through the crisp winter sun. So it's a choice between an indoor trainer session or strapping on the lights and getting out there. If you want to go fast (or long) in the summer, you have to go dark in winter.
And it could be said that night riding is the new old. The first edition of the Tour de France required the race's pioneering competitors to pedal through the night to be able to finish the following afternoon, such was their brutal length. The very first stage of the Tour was no less than 467kms long. Ouch. And the last stage was directed to commence at 9pm so that the riders could complete the 471kms and arrive in the suburbs of Paris in daylight.
It is little wonder that competitors sought some assistance behind motorcycles or stole a lift in a truck to make the inhuman humanly possible. It takes another level of mental strength to endure the dark and combined with the huge distances it was too much for many.
That ultra-endurance approach of the early Tours has come full circle with events such as The Transcontinental Race. And the ever growing TCR starts in the dark at 10pm, as if to rudely reinforce the need for nocturnal pedalling to complete the task at hand . 'The first night and Belgium passed in a blur of darkness' was how it was described to us here.
Endurance riders, being the authority on this topic, speak of the beauty of riding at night. Even the fatigue-induced hallucinations can be welcome, according to our two-time Paris-Brest-Paris and multiple Mille du Sud finisher, Michel Icard. 'It's like riding through a Walt Disney film' he told us.
Yes the quiet of the night can be haunting but it is simultaneously refreshing. Col d'Eze is a beauty in the summer. But come winter the Grande Corniche is in winter hibernation.
Take away the sensory distractions of noise and sight and, like a pilot at the Le Mans 24hr endurance race, the effort is distilled as you follow the narrow tunnel of light through the darkest sections around the back of the Observatory.
And as you pass through the famous Quatre Chemins cross-roads you climb up to feel the cold air, hear the silence and see the lights that decorate the coast and surrounding hills like a set of jewels. Embrace the solitude as the nocturnal world becomes comfortably numb and just pedal and breathe. It's enlightening.
For our night missions we use the Jacqueline Audax Gilet, the Arlette long sleeve Audax jersey, and the Lucette gilet, which all include high grade retroreflective sections to ensure maximum visibility.
Find the Audax Collection here.